A middle daughter wooed by a wife killer.
An unusually tall princess who marries a monster.
A misanthropic duke cursed to a loveless life.
Resourceful maidens, dangerous beasts and misunderstood men rewrite the rules of love, marriage and family in this small anthology of fairy tales written by a mother and daughter.
Available Now on Amazon
UPCOMING
SWIFT FOX ENTERTAINMENT presents...
15
a documentary
Fifteen friends share what it's like to be 15 years old during a global pandemic.
Greetings, and welcome. I am a writer, filmmaker and professor, along with a few other things, like animal nut, mother of teenage daughters, and aspiring Husky trainer (more on that shortly).
I grew up on a farm in Suffolk County, Long Island among many siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, horses, ponies, cats, dogs, chickens, gerbils, turtles... well, you get the idea. As the baby of the family I sometimes got left behind, but managed to rack up some important accomplishments anyway, such as learning how to drive a Volkswagen at age 9 and piloting it to the nearby 7-11 with my friend Patty to buy cigarettes.
I also read fairy tales... as many as I could get ahold of. I still have the worn, dog-eared anthologies full of exquisite illustrations I had as a little girl. Those tales taught me how to dream.
Eventually I went off into the world to seek my fortune, and more importantly, a boyfriend. Highlights include living in France for a year at age 16, attending Yale, studying at Oxford, traveling to Egypt, Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, East and West Germany, Corsica and Italy, and falling for a cute Australian guy in Tel Aviv. When I returned stateside I landed in North Carolina, where I was lucky enough to be hired as a production secretary at Dino De Laurentiis's newly-built film studio in Wilmington. From there I went on to work for many Hollywood legends. A very wonderful woman producer of a very important English director advised me to go to film school as an efficient way to learn filmmaking and possibly make something of myself. I took her advice, at least about the film school part. You can see my Student Emmy-winning film here.
After graduating from USC's film school with an advanced degree in Production, I worked steadily as a writer-producer and occasional director in film and television for the next 25+ years. I also began teaching screenwriting--again, at USC--a job that keeps me continuously challenged and always inspired.
I'm married and have two fascinating teenage daughters, two middle-aged cats, and a bossy young Husky who's managed to train me. And no matter how much we vacuum, there are always dust bunnies.
FILM + TV
I have scripted and produced narrative and nonfiction film and television professionally for over 25 years. My optioned and/or produced screenplays include Mating Games (Trillion Entertainment), Gunplay (Social Breakdown Films) and The Fallback Guy (George Kaczender Films). I co-directed and wrote the feature documentary American Rider produced by former Universal Pictures President Thom Mount and Live Entertainment, featuring Keanu Reeves, Joe Pesci and Peter Fonda.
In television, I have written and produced over 25 reality and nonfiction series, pilots and specials that have aired on NBC, CBS, HBO, MSNBC, Discovery, History, Lifetime, WE, HGTV. In 2015 I was a staff writer on the comedy series My Crazy Ex, currently airing on Lifetime Movie Network. My short script “Small’s the Next Big Thing” won Best Short Comedy Screenplay for Slamdance in 2014.
I love creating small personal pieces as much as large mainstream commercial projects. Below is a small selection of clips. For a complete list of screen and teleplays, or an up-to-date reel, please contact me.
"Bobbie's Story"
Life of NY Matriarch
"Keanu and his bike"
American Rider, Live Entertainment
"Karen Talley"
Lockup, MSNBC
Ep. 33: "Frisky Business"
My Crazy Ex, Lifetime Movie Network
"My Story"
WAVES member Louise Downer
"Fighting Fish"
Student Emmy in Comedy, ATAS
IN DEVELOPMENT
UNTITLED SUPERNATURAL THRILLER
Feature Script
Something's wrong with 16-year-old Felicity Rhodes, and it's more than her shrink can handle. As Felicity's mother struggles to get to the bottom of her daughter's illness, she must make a horrifying choice.
CLIMBING HUSBAND HILL
Feature Script
A naive but ambitious intern falls hard for a slick, in-your-face Hollywood agent during a work trip to Palm Springs, but her aging has-been male boss has other plans for her.
OYSTER BAY
Original half-hour comedy pilot
An enterprising East Coast matriarch takes an Indian friend's advice to try the age-old practice of Arranged Marriages to marry off her three unhappy daughters in the era of Charles and Diana.
PRINT + WEB
I have been a writer for over 25 years. My writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, LA Parent, Newsday, Publisher's Weekly, the International Herald Tribune, and other places. Here is a small selection. For a complete list of articles and stories, please contact me.
And They Wed
KDP Publishing
Love Among the Ruins
Medium
Photo by Friends of Big Bear Valley 2020
See Jane Run... to Jail
Medium
Photo by Kelley Sikkema on Unsplash
Our Love Affair is Based on Animal Magnetism
Los Angeles Times
Art by Alison George / For the Times
UPCOMING
FIELD NOTES ON A FAMILY
This “faux memoir” captures a naive wife and mother’s blunt, unintentionally absurd account of managing her family’s life in Los Angeles with high hopes and a serious cash shortage.
TEACHING
I have spent years over a decade learning and practicing the art of teaching students how to write. I usually begin by sharing my appreciation of other writers. Then, I encourage my students to listen to and believe in the innate power of their unique life experiences. Little by little, their voices emerge. And then we just get to it, trying all kinds of things until we figure out what produces the best results.
I am proud to be an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. I teach core curriculum BFA and MFA classes as well as electives. Over the years I have taught courses in Creating the Short Film, Writing the Feature Script, Advanced Feature Rewriting, and Writing the Relationship Screenplay. Prior to teaching at USC, I taught Writing for Film and Television at Loyola Marymount University, where I created courses for MFA Writing Students in Writing and Producing Reality and Nonfiction TV and Creating the Unscripted Series.
My current and former students win awards, screen at festivals, sell scripts and series, and get hired on a regular basis. I hope they will remember me kindly if I ever need a job.
PERFECT PASS SCRIPT SERVICES
When you submit your script to a producer, agent, manager or contest, you get one good read. After that, no matter how much you might rewrite your screenplay, you will never fully dispel that first impression.
So, it better be great.
Problem is, you’re burnt out; you’ve lost all objectivity. Maybe you’re a bad speller or fuzzy on grammar. Maybe your action writing isn’t exactly sizzling. Your formatting can be confusing. The prose drags in places. The character introductions fail to “pop.”
A thousand little mistakes will poison that first read.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. A Perfect Pass can purge your script of all those errors and shortcomings, ensuring a nearly bullet-proof first read.
While dozens of script consultants, script doctors, script readers and other “script experts” are out there waiting to take your money, not one of them offers the simple, practical, invaluable service I do: fixing your mistakes and vastly improving the clarity and readability of your screenplay.
No other script expert will touch your screenplay.
I will. I deliver actual bang for your buck.
My work on your script will go far beyond proofreading. As a film and television writer with over 25 years of experience and a professor of screenwriting in a world-class film school, I know exactly how to cast your work in its best light.
Make that first read your best. You can’t afford not to.
PRICE: $5 per page. I do a full pass on your script, greatly enhancing written clarity and style. I fix all errors of spelling, punctuation, grammar, usage and screenplay format. I also improve your story’s consistency, pacing, tension, readability and other vital attributes of the professional screenplay.
I will not fundamentally change your story. Instead, my goal is to present it in its most perfect form. If I am confused about anything, I will ask for clarification. Satisfaction guaranteed.
Request a FREE Perfect Pass on a page from your Screenplay to see the difference! Reply here or use the contact form on my website.
What they're saying about AND THEY WED:
Beautifully written, enchanting stories. Bravo to the writing duo- who knew fairytales could be page turners and so powerful! A delight to read!
VANESSA RACHMANINOFF,
Businesswoman & Mother